Beverage containers



H. M. CHANG Aug. 20, 1968 BEVERAGE CONTA INERS Filed June 30, 1967 ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,397,830 BEVERAGE CONTAINERS Henry M. Chang, 2451 Webb Ave., Bronx, N.Y. 10468 Continuation-impart of application Ser. No. 655,971,

June 6, 1967. This application June 30, 1967, Ser.

7 Claims. (Cl. 229-7) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A beverage container wherein the top or cover of the container has a tearable or severable tongue defined by score lines, slits or the like, the tongue being positioned in the vertical plane of a straight line which defines the maximum dimension of the cover. The tongue has its base positioned near the circumferential edge of the cover and its graspable tip positioned remote therefrom, for example in an area close to or at the midpoint of the cover. A first depending loop is carried by the tongue at the base thereof, and a second loop depends from the cover adjacent the tip of the tongue. A drinking straw whose length is slightly less than that of said straight line registers slidably in the said loops. Upon tearing the tongue as far as its base said first loop tilts the adjacent end of the straw upward above the top surface of the cover so that it may be grasped and slid outward from the second loop.

This application is a continuation-in-part of my application entitled Beverage Containers, executed on May 25, 1967, Ser. No. 655,971, filed on June 6, 1967, now Patent No. 3,385,501 dated May 28, 1968, the latter application being a continuation-in-part of my application Ser. No. 465,212, filed July 27, 1965, now abandoned.

In the accompanying drawing, FIG. 1 is a perspective view, with parts broken away and partly in section, showing an embodiment of the present invention applied to a container of rectangular cross-section.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken on the line 22 of FIG. 1, showing the underside of the cover.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view similar to FIG. 3 but showing the severable tongue in lifted position and the straw tilted upward ready to be grasped.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the straw in a further tilted position into which it has been lifted by the fingers, not shown, of the consumer.

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary perspective view of a container which is circular in cross-section, with parts broken away and partly in section, with the present invention applied thereto; such containers are most commonly made of metal.

In FIGS. 1-5 a severable tongue 16 with its tip 15 is shown defined by converging slits 14 extending through the cover 13 of a container 10. The median line of the tongue preferably lies in the vertical plane of a maximum dimension of the cover, for a reason discussed below. Such dimension is, in the case of the rectangular container 10, a diagonal of the cover. The side walls 12 of the container 10 are shown having circumferential flanges 11 to which the complementary cover 13 is sealed; this illustrates one way of applying the cover to the container body.

In the case of the tongue 16, where it is defined by slits 14, it is necessary to seal the slits. This is accomplished by means of a strip 17 of relatively tearable material such as, for example, a thin sheet of plastic which is adhered to the cover and which has sufiicient length and width to underlie the slits and the tongue. It is apparent that when the tip 15 is grasped to tear the tongue back to its base, the strip 17 will readily tear along the slits 14.

ice

A first loop 18 is carried by the tongue 16 at or near the base thereof, on its underside, and a second loop 19 is adhered to the underside of the cover adjacent the tip 15 of the tongue. As shown in FIG. 2, both loops 18 and 19 may be carried by the strip 17, or formed out thereof. Or. obviously, the strip may terminate just short of the loop '19 and the latter may be adhered directly to the cover 13. Both loops lie in the said vertical plane through the tongue. The essential feature of the invention is that two loops are provided, one attached to the tongue near its base and the other attached to the cover, or depending from the cover, adjacent the tip of the tongue. The degree of upward bend of the tongue in FIGS. 1 and 3 has been exaggerated in the drawing, as all that is required is that the tip may be grasped, if necessary with the aid of a knife blade or finger nail to pry it upward.

A drinking straw 20 registers slidably into the two loops 18 and 19, substantially or approximately in the position thereof shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, with the end 20a of the straw entering the loop 18 and extending to a greater or lesser degree thereinto. Of course either or both loops may have a larger or smaller axial length than shown in the drawing. Upon severing the tongue 16 back to its base, the loop 18 is tilted upward into the position shown in FIG. 4, thereby tilting the straw and raising the end 20a above the top surface of the cover 13 where it may be readily grasped by the consumer and further tilted into the position thereof shown in FIG. 5 for ready withdrawal from the loop 10. Having the tongue 16 and hence the straw 20 positioned in the vertical plane of a maximum dimension of the cover or the container body, permits of using a straw of maximum length, which is of course desirable.

It is obvious that however the tongue 17 may be made severable, whether by slits 14, by perforated lines, not shown, or merely by score lines as will be discussed with reference to FIG. '6, is immaterial to the invention. The invention consists primarily in the provision of a severable tongue in the container cover with the base of the tongue being positioned near the circumferential edge of the cover, a loop carried on the underside of the cover adjacent the tip of the tongue, another loop depending from the underside of the tongue near the base thereof, the loops being aligned and having a straw or the ilke registering in both loops.

It is also obvious that the invention is equally applicable to containers of any desired cross-sectional conformation. In FIG. 6 parts equivalent to parts previously described bear the same reference numerals followed by the suflix b. Here the invention is shown applied to a cylindrical container 21 of a common type usually made of metal and having a severable tongue 16b defined in the cover 22 by score lines 14b. A loop 18b is adhered to the underside of the tongue 16b at the base of the latter, and a loop 19b is adhered to the underside of the cover adjacent the tip 15b of the tongue. The severable tongue in this type of container is usually provided with a graspable ring or tab 23 having an extension 24 riveted to the tip 15b of the tongue. It is obvious that, upon tearing the tongue open, the end 20a of the straw will be ejected from the loop 18b in the same manner as previously described with reference to the container of FIGS. 15.

The loops 18b and 19b are, like the loops 18 and 19, preferably made of a material which has a degree of flexibility, for example, a suitable plastic, so that both sets of loops may readily bend or deform as may be required during severing of the tongue and tilting of the straw.

I claim:

1. A beverage container comprising a body portion and a complementary cover therefor, the cover having a severable tongue therein whose base is positioned near the circumferential edge of the cover, a first loop on the underside of said tongue near said base thereof, a second loop on said cover on the underside thereof adjacent the tip of said tongue, said tip being between said first and second loops, said loops and said tongue lying in a common vertical plane through said cover, and a drinking straw registering in said loops.

2. A beverage container according to claim 1, said vertical plane coinciding with a maximum dimension of said cover.

3. A beverage container according to claim 1, said cover having score lines defining said tongue.

4. -A beverage container according to claim 1, said cover having slits therein defining said tongue, and sealing means sealing said slits.

5. A beverage container according to claim 4, said sealing means comprising a tearable strip on the underside of said cover adhered to said tongue and to the portions of said cover surrounding said slits.

4' 1 6. A beverage container according to claim 5, said first loop depending from said strip.

7. A beverage container according to claim 5, both of said loops depending from said strip.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,134,530 5/1964 Chang 229 7 3,215,329 11/1965 Pugh 229-7 FOREIGN PATENTS 464,569 4/1950 Canada.

DONALD F. NORTON, Primary Examiner. 

